What is a Savings Account? A savings account is held by the customer in a bank, where he parks, certain amount and gains in return a modest interest from the bank.

The savings bank account is the most preferred by customers and throughout the years has undergone several facelifts. A savings account consists of certain prominent utilities and they are –

• Save money and also earn interest on the same
• Can issue cheques for payment to recipients
• Transfer of money via mobile and net banking
• Debit cards are issued under a Savings account and it can be utilized for purchases and withdrawals
• Auto debit can be activated for Electronic Clearing Services (ECS) of EMIs

There are several types of savings bank accounts based on occupation, income group, gender etc. Generally, a savings account holder has to maintain the minimal balance of the account set by the Bank. If the account falls below the minimal amount, the bank has the right to penalize the account holder, generally done by monetary deduction. But, there is also a different kind of savings account known as ‘Zero Balance Savings Account’ and as the name suggests, there is no minimal amount to maintain.

Zero Balance Savings Account

The latest fad is on zero balance savings account. Here the individual can operate his account freely without maintaining a minimum balance. This type of account is generally offered by banks to customers who have a salary account. It can also be opened under the recently announced Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) – it’s a scheme by the Ministry of Finance with a mission of financial inclusion.

One of the very few banks that offer ‘Zero balance savings account’ even for those customers who don’t have a salary account is Kotak Bank. The Jifi account from Kotak bank is a zero balance account and is a one-of-a-kind ‘social savings account’. Following is a detailed description of this unique account.

Jifi Account from Kotak Bank

Kotak Bank’s Jifi account is a new-age digital account that offers zero balance and is not a salary account. The Jifi is a social savings account in which the account holder can receive banking updates via twitter and gain reward points by adding friends to the Jifi network and transacting online.

Following are the features and benefits of Jifi saving account –

• Zero Balance Savings Account
• Non-interest bearing account
• Hashtag Banking – Cheque book request, DTH and prepaid mobile recharge, account updates and several more just a tweet away
• Loyalty Club – Transaction or Social get rewarded for both
• Get rewarded by referring friends to Jifi
• On creation of account get free Jifi platinum chip debit card for the first year
• Free NEFT through net banking

Eligibility

• Any citizen of India, above 18 years of age can avail a Jifi account
• The individual should provide the necessary residential and identity proofs

Sponsored post by Kotak Bank